EAST LANSING -- Final exams begin today at Michigan State, and
for the Spartan who perhaps represents the unlikeliest of academic success
stories, it's been a grind.

Adreian Payne, Michigan State's 6-foot-10 center, has a
reputation to maintain as an academic All-Big Ten performer and the Spartans'
reigning scholar-athlete award winner, carrying a cumulative 3.1 grade-point
average to lead the team among upperclassmen.

Combining brawn on the court as the Spartans' top rebounder with
brains in the classroom hasn't been easy.

Payne has attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

He arrived at Michigan State as a freshman and underwent
assessments to diagnose the learning disorder. He now wants to major in
business, though his astronomy and sociology classes have proven difficult to
master.

"It's kind of challenging, but I like it though because I'm
learning a lot," Payne said. "It's just not enough yet."

Academic success at Michigan State is quite an achievement
for Payne. He said he had trouble focusing in high school, received poor grades
early on, and had to work hard just so he wouldn't fail his classes at
Jefferson Township High School in Dayton, Ohio.

Payne, who was raised by his late grandmother after his mother
passed away when he was 13, "wasn't a kid that anybody thought could go to
college," according to Spartans coach Tom Izzo.

"I was selfish in class because I didn't like other people
answering questions and going along without me understanding what's going on," Payne
said. "So when they did that, I would get mad and didn't get it because they
were going too fast. If they're moving too fast for me, then I would just sit
back and just watch. I would rather work one-on-one."

The school system did not fail Payne, catching onto his early
struggles. He was developing into a top basketball recruit while also playing
baseball (pitcher and shortstop), football (quarterback and wide receiver) and running
track. But the star athlete needed to get on track academically and received
encouragement and tutoring from Dr. Richard Gates, Jefferson Township's superintendent
of schools who in the 1970s had earned all-conference academic and basketball
honors at Kent State.

Identifying ADHD among other learning challenges while at
Michigan State helped Payne as well because it qualified him for an array of academic
services at the school. Payne works with Gretchen Paige, a learning specialist
at Michigan State's Student-Athlete Support Services he credited for helping
him learn to concentrate.

"I knew that it was going to be hard coming in my freshman
year, and I didn't want to be ineligible or affect my ability on the court,"
Payne said, adding he does not take medication for ADHD. "I just came in and
just focused in my grades, trying to improve that way. I took my grades real
seriously.

"I knew they were going to give me a plan so I could be
successful, and I just wanted to follow my plan."

Jim Pignataro, a Michigan
State associate athletic director and director for SASS, said the credit goes
to Payne for being self-motivated enough to take advantage of the academic services
the school offers him.

"He has a refreshing attitude and just understands
that these services are around him to make him better, just like the coaching's
there to make him better," Pignataro said.

Adreian Payne

Payne has improved his public speaking skills
while facing the media, and during his time as a Spartan, he
has also become more self-aware.

"I've been goofy, and I use my goofiness to lighten the
moment so I can get more comfortable," Payne said. "Maybe I used to be too
goofy, but being around Day-Day (Draymond Green) helped mature me as being not
as goofy as much as I used to be.

"I'm more mature now, but I still make people smile. I like
to do that."

On the court, Payne has thrived in his junior season even
after becoming the Spartans' sixth man, experimenting at power forward, and
coming off the bench regularly for the first time since his freshman year. He
ranks in the top five in the Big Ten in rebounding (7.5), field goal percentage
(.627) and blocked shots (15) in a season when he has developed a consistent perimeter
jump shot and averaged 8.1 points.

To improve his shot, Payne approached it using
the same work ethic that helped him through his studies. He takes extra shots
and makes sure to follow through on every one of them.

"Think it's going in, having confidence," Payne said of his
keys to success. "Focusing like that and not letting nothing get in your way."